One in five new HIV diagnoses in Cleveland are under 25 years

Cleveland Department of Public Health reports preliminary HIV/AIDS surveillance data for 2009 to Cleveland City Council.

New HIV+ diagnoses to youth 19 years and under

A report presented to the Community & Economic Development Committee of Cleveland City Council revealed that 19% of new HIV and HIV-with-AIDS diagnoses made in Cleveland during 2008 and 2009 were to residents under the age of 25 years. The Cleveland Department of Public Health report, available here (click link), was presented on February 11th  and released February 17th with an additional table showing changes in case counts across Cleveland neighborhoods.

The chart shows the number of youth age 19 years and younger who were newly reported as HIV positive in Cuyahoga County. In 2008-2009, eighteen youth were newly diagnosed with HIV; thirteen of these youth were Cleveland residents when diagnosed, and five lived in municipalities outside of Cleveland. This trend has continued since 2004 when the first increase in HIV among youth were reported by CDPH.

Decreasing numbers of incident diagnoses

Surveillance data reveal that there were 129 new HIV diagnoses among Cleveland residents in 2008 and, prelilminarily, 120 cases in 2009, one of the lowest levels in the decade. Only in 2004 was the number lower (125 cases).

However, two-thirds of the cases diagnosed are African American, unchanged in the past six years according to the report.

Fewer people diagnosed late in the disease

There was a dramatic decrease in the number of persons diagnosed with AIDS at the time when he/she is first diagnosed with HIV. These cases, called HIV-with-AIDS, dropped from 36% of cases in 2004-2005 to only 21% of cases in 2008-2009.

Risky behaviors leading to HIV exposure

Men-who-have-sex-with-men, or MSM males, reflect nearly six in every ten new diagnoses (59%) during 2008-2009.

Also, fewer persons are being diagnosed with HIV having been exposed through injection drug use (3% in 2008-2009 new cases).

New areas affected

In the past, three areas in Cleveland where the majority of new cases were reported. These areas extended from Edgewater (and Lakewood), Detroit-Shoreway and Downtown, around the Glenville/Hough/Central areas, and then in the southeast corner of the city (Mt. Pleasant & Lee-Miles).  An increase in new HIV diagnoses was seen in parts of the West Side, including West Boulevard, Old Brooklyn, Riverside, and Ohio City/NWS and on the East Side in Corlett and Woodland Hills. This can be seen in a table at the end of the report. It should be noted that every neighborhood in Cleveland had at least one new diagnosis of HIV or HIV-with-AIDS since 2006.

Action plans provided

The Office of HIV/AIDS Services at CDPH is actively analyzing these results along with funded AIDS service partners to determine appropriate strategies to increase prevention efforts. The report lists elements of the CDPH action plan that included collaborations with Care Alliance, Cleveland Municipal School District, local health care providers and faith-based community groups.